Guest1
6th May 2003, 06:26
I submitted this to my college newspaper, and already to IL, but I wanted to get it out there, cause I worked hard on it ;)
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The Fall Of Empire
This month, a city of millions was turned into hell on earth. The sky rained fire in Baghdad and the stars competed with the intense orange glow of war. Fear gripped the people, as they awaited their supposed liberators. Instead what they saw was nothing but death and destruction. This was no war of liberation. Neither was it a war of disarmament. It was a war of domination, one of immensely important strategic consequence. Our world has come to a crossroads and the next two decades will be rife with difficulties. Iraq was simply the beginning.
In order to understand the reasons for this war, we must look deeper than this conflict, to the very basis of our global socio-economic structure. We have built a society we claim to be proud of. World leaders fanatically defend this system, using words like equality and justice. We are meant to see this world as a paradise. The problem comes with the prisoners this lifestyle is built upon. The thought of even one oppressed human being is one that fills me with rage. In our system, we speak of billions of people, the majority of the world’s population. The world’s oppressed and exploited, from the expelled native peoples to the enslaved workers of the world, pay the price for luxuries the likes of which they will never enjoy. Without their suffering, this entire way of life would not be.
Yet an economic system made possible by the oppression of the majority of the world can only exist so long as the people can be drugged and subdued. The opiate of choice today is the treadmill life. Distracted with the unreachable goal of wealth, 1st world citizens have no time to see the misery their governments are causing. If enough of them were to stop and look around, human nature is such that the whole system would collapse. Therein lies the fear of the Capitalist.
The reality is the elite realize as much as many social activists do that this socio-economic imbalance cannot be maintained indefinitely. In fact, it is on the edge, with the very real possibility of self-destruction looming ahead. The Internet has interconnected people across geographical and class boundaries directly. It has allowed people to circumvent corporate monopolies on information, to circumvent censorship. So now people anywhere in the world can be connected in seconds to information on issues such as the growing gap between rich and poor and global warming, regardless of their governments’ position. It is these very side effects of globalization that are jeopardizing the elite’s position in the world, awakening and uniting the people. Couple this with the problems of rapidly declining natural resources, massive economic crises and political upheaval in countries electing leftist leaders, and chaos is the result. That’s where we stand now.
The immediate problem for the elite is securing their survival. Massive uncertainties and change are likely to culminate in a catastrophe for Capitalism within the next two decades, likely aggravated by the very attempts to avert it. What happens after this crisis is what worries the Capitalists. Three forces will clash, and the result of this battle will be critical.
The American Capitalists understand that if this system of American hegemony is to survive, it will need to further shed the extra baggage of "softy-notions", such as liberty and peace. America has chosen a path of war, with oil seeming to be the strategic prize. While it is true that the US economy is in shambles, the instability these wars are causing is nullifying any benefits oil might bring in the short term. No, I put forth a much more radical idea. The oil is not for today. Bush has given huge tax-cuts to the rich and approved a huge military budget; these are not the actions of one who wants to restore the economy. No, Bush is acting on the assumption that the entire system is about to sink anyway, and is looking for a lifeboat for America, or American Capitalism at the very least. That's what the oil is for, that’s what makes these wars essential. Bush is looking for something that would guarantee some power despite the coming chaos. Yet Imperialism is a difficult pill to swallow for a people accustomed to an illusion of diplomacy. Thus, on the home front, the antiterrorism bill attacks resistance with extra-judicial police powers. Dissent is dead. This is the capacity for adaptation Capitalism is so famous for. Today it is transforming itself entirely into a system that retains the nationalism, the authoritarianism and the aggressive wars of traditional Fascism, but easier to swallow. A slicker Fascism.
The very aggressive nature of this new strategy means that someone will have to be axed, and so we see French, German, Russian and yes, even Chinese Capitalism aligning themselves against US and British expansionist policies. Not because the greater good has entered the equation at all, but once again for purely material reasons, for economic survival.
The activists understand that if this system is to fall and replaced by an egalitarian system, they need to make their stand now and push for real change. This is something that 12.5 million people across the world understood when they came out to oppose this war simultaneously in the first global protest in history a month ago. Just as we are seeing the rise of a more determined Fascism across the world, we are also seeing the rise of a more effective resistance that fights for a more enlightened approach to life. With the split amongst the Capitalists growing and this newfound unity amongst the people, the odds are not against us.
This battle will be an important one and no matter the outcome, things will not be the same in twenty years. Today we are seeing the enlightenment of millions of young people across the world. It is up to us, starting with this war, to change this world. Even if the wars continue, we must be heard louder than the bombs. We are the red flags, the black flags, the punks, the hippies, the university students, the poet-philosophers.
We are the ones who reject injustice, here to smash the wretched state and free the people on whom it is built. We are the people, we will prevail.
--------
The Fall Of Empire
This month, a city of millions was turned into hell on earth. The sky rained fire in Baghdad and the stars competed with the intense orange glow of war. Fear gripped the people, as they awaited their supposed liberators. Instead what they saw was nothing but death and destruction. This was no war of liberation. Neither was it a war of disarmament. It was a war of domination, one of immensely important strategic consequence. Our world has come to a crossroads and the next two decades will be rife with difficulties. Iraq was simply the beginning.
In order to understand the reasons for this war, we must look deeper than this conflict, to the very basis of our global socio-economic structure. We have built a society we claim to be proud of. World leaders fanatically defend this system, using words like equality and justice. We are meant to see this world as a paradise. The problem comes with the prisoners this lifestyle is built upon. The thought of even one oppressed human being is one that fills me with rage. In our system, we speak of billions of people, the majority of the world’s population. The world’s oppressed and exploited, from the expelled native peoples to the enslaved workers of the world, pay the price for luxuries the likes of which they will never enjoy. Without their suffering, this entire way of life would not be.
Yet an economic system made possible by the oppression of the majority of the world can only exist so long as the people can be drugged and subdued. The opiate of choice today is the treadmill life. Distracted with the unreachable goal of wealth, 1st world citizens have no time to see the misery their governments are causing. If enough of them were to stop and look around, human nature is such that the whole system would collapse. Therein lies the fear of the Capitalist.
The reality is the elite realize as much as many social activists do that this socio-economic imbalance cannot be maintained indefinitely. In fact, it is on the edge, with the very real possibility of self-destruction looming ahead. The Internet has interconnected people across geographical and class boundaries directly. It has allowed people to circumvent corporate monopolies on information, to circumvent censorship. So now people anywhere in the world can be connected in seconds to information on issues such as the growing gap between rich and poor and global warming, regardless of their governments’ position. It is these very side effects of globalization that are jeopardizing the elite’s position in the world, awakening and uniting the people. Couple this with the problems of rapidly declining natural resources, massive economic crises and political upheaval in countries electing leftist leaders, and chaos is the result. That’s where we stand now.
The immediate problem for the elite is securing their survival. Massive uncertainties and change are likely to culminate in a catastrophe for Capitalism within the next two decades, likely aggravated by the very attempts to avert it. What happens after this crisis is what worries the Capitalists. Three forces will clash, and the result of this battle will be critical.
The American Capitalists understand that if this system of American hegemony is to survive, it will need to further shed the extra baggage of "softy-notions", such as liberty and peace. America has chosen a path of war, with oil seeming to be the strategic prize. While it is true that the US economy is in shambles, the instability these wars are causing is nullifying any benefits oil might bring in the short term. No, I put forth a much more radical idea. The oil is not for today. Bush has given huge tax-cuts to the rich and approved a huge military budget; these are not the actions of one who wants to restore the economy. No, Bush is acting on the assumption that the entire system is about to sink anyway, and is looking for a lifeboat for America, or American Capitalism at the very least. That's what the oil is for, that’s what makes these wars essential. Bush is looking for something that would guarantee some power despite the coming chaos. Yet Imperialism is a difficult pill to swallow for a people accustomed to an illusion of diplomacy. Thus, on the home front, the antiterrorism bill attacks resistance with extra-judicial police powers. Dissent is dead. This is the capacity for adaptation Capitalism is so famous for. Today it is transforming itself entirely into a system that retains the nationalism, the authoritarianism and the aggressive wars of traditional Fascism, but easier to swallow. A slicker Fascism.
The very aggressive nature of this new strategy means that someone will have to be axed, and so we see French, German, Russian and yes, even Chinese Capitalism aligning themselves against US and British expansionist policies. Not because the greater good has entered the equation at all, but once again for purely material reasons, for economic survival.
The activists understand that if this system is to fall and replaced by an egalitarian system, they need to make their stand now and push for real change. This is something that 12.5 million people across the world understood when they came out to oppose this war simultaneously in the first global protest in history a month ago. Just as we are seeing the rise of a more determined Fascism across the world, we are also seeing the rise of a more effective resistance that fights for a more enlightened approach to life. With the split amongst the Capitalists growing and this newfound unity amongst the people, the odds are not against us.
This battle will be an important one and no matter the outcome, things will not be the same in twenty years. Today we are seeing the enlightenment of millions of young people across the world. It is up to us, starting with this war, to change this world. Even if the wars continue, we must be heard louder than the bombs. We are the red flags, the black flags, the punks, the hippies, the university students, the poet-philosophers.
We are the ones who reject injustice, here to smash the wretched state and free the people on whom it is built. We are the people, we will prevail.